City begins mailing bus pass refunds

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Bus pass holders expecting a rebate from the city because of the month-long bus strike should check their mailbox for the next couple of weeks.

City Transportation Services Director Cheryl Soon told the City Council Transportation Committee yesterday the first batch of rebate checks were being mailed yesterday, with more following in the next few days.

The city has received refund requests from almost 13,000 pass holders, who will get checks for up to $30 for September, plus a partial refund for days the bus did not operate in August.

Soon said refunds also would go to 1,200 senior citizens and disabled riders who turned in their old bus passes but did not get new ones.

This round of checks will not address the 30,000 disabled and senior riders who turned in their old passes and converted to the $30 annual passes before the city decided to honor the $25 two-year passes. Soon said she would meet with U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor on Monday to figure out how to handle those riders.

Soon also told council members bus ridership is down about 12 percent since fare increases took effect in October.

"That's not the place we want to be at by the end of the year, but we did not expect to gain back all our ridership on the first day or even in the first month (after the strike)," Soon said.

She said the bus wants to have 90 percent of riders back by April and 100 percent back by July 1.

Transfer use also is down compared with October 2002, which Soon said could mean the transfers are no longer being abused, as was alleged before the bus strike.

"It would appear that has been stemmed, and that we have a number of people who really need to be transferring," Soon said.

Although city bus revenue for the first month after the strike was $3 million, compared with $2.6 million a year earlier, $363,000 of that came from seniors and disabled riders converting to the $30 annual passes, Soon noted.

Not counting that revenue, Soon said, "We are pretty much running even, revenues-wise, to last year."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.